Elgin man, youth held in Bartlett break-ins

Police have charged an 18-year-old Elgin man, whose criminal record includes two other burglary arrests, and a 15-year-old accomplice with vandalizing and burglarizing several businesses in a Bartlett industrial park last week.

Anthony C. Passantino of the 600 block of Glen Ivy Drive was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail Saturday and is in the DuPage County Jail facing felony charges of burglary and criminal damage to property related to the Jan. 26 break-ins. He also was charged with felony possession of a stolen vehicle and misdemeanor unlawful possession of a firearm.

The 15-year-old, whom police describe as a friend of Passantino's with a juvenile criminal record, is being held in the DuPage County Youth Home while awaiting trial on four felony charges of burglary.

In an early morning spree on Jan. 26 in the Brewster Creek Business Park, Passantino and his accomplice used a hijacked forklift and work van, a stolen .38-caliber revolver, and Passantino's BB gun to do hundred thousand dollars' damage to seven businesses, police said.

Four of the businesses were also burglarized, police said. Bartlett Police Chief Dan Palmer said the property damage and stolen goods totaled at least $500,000. He said police believe Passantino and his accomplice acted alone.

Police said a student at an Elgin high school who was not involved in the break-ins talked last week about selling a piece of jewelry stolen from one of the businesses. An interrogation of the boy led police to Passantino and his accomplice, police said.

Kane County court records show that Passantino was out on bond in two residential burglaries at the time of the Bartlett break-ins. He also pleaded guilty last fall to a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession, records show.

"In my opinion, he shouldn't have been on the street," Palmer said.

Police last week recovered a .38-caliber revolver that was taken from the offices of 5 Star Safety Equipment Inc., one of the vandalized firms, at an Elgin home, Palmer said. The home's residents were not involved in the break-ins, he said.